Tidal Bay out of the Argento Chase at Cheltenham this afternoon

Tidal Bay has been ruled out of this afternoon's Argento Chase at Cheltenham after failing to recover from the setback he suffered earlier this week.

The enigmatic 12-year-old was found to be slightly lame after work on Thursday morning, but after diagnosing the problem as pus in a foot, champion trainer Paul Nicholls described his chances of running as "50-50" on Friday morning.

In the absence of the sidelined Bobs Worth, last month's Lexus Chase hero was set to go off favourite for today's recognised Cheltenham Gold Cup trial, but he will not be lining up at Prestbury Park.